Writhe formulas and antipodal points in plectonemic DNA configurations
arXiv:0809.1343 · doi:10.1103/PhysRevE.78.041912
Abstract
The linking and writhing numbers are key quantities when characterizing the structure of a piece of supercoiled DNA. Defined as double integrals over the shape of the double-helix, these numbers are not always straightforward to compute, though a simplified formula exists. We examine the range of applicability of this widely-used simplified formula, and show that it cannot be employed for plectonemic DNA. We show that inapplicability is due to a hypothesis of Fuller theorem that is not met. The hypothesis seems to have been overlooked in many works.
20 pages, 7 figures, 47 references
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